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What if ... the future of MMO was on consoles
Omega3
Member Posts: 398
Assumption 1 : Next Gen consoles controllers will have a built-in mini-keyboard (see Xbox and Ps3 accessories to see how they look like - they are very practical)
Assumption 2 : Microsoft is trying to fuse console/pc market into one single monster
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It seems to me MMO(RPG)s have hit a wall they cannot overcome: gear-grind, lvl-capped games.
What if the future was in blending several genre from the console into what would be truely next-gen MMOG, blending Perfect World, the Sims, Street Fighter, Super Mario, and GTA4, PS3Home alltogether to create multi-faceted MMO games.
- platform elements (jumping, avoiding, hitting exposed vital points during a short timeframe)
- fighting games elements (special moves done with an succession of keys on the gamepad)
- action-adventure games (stretched-out, lore-driven, dungeon-crawling elements)
- GTA -like elements (NPC-controlled factions you can interact with trough scripted events)
The way i see it, the whole auto-attack and PvE gear-grind has become a real chore, and all of this lack player-interaction, wether it be positive (crafting, housing, playing a card game...) or antagonistic (sp?) (PvP, RvR)
What's your opinion, do you like pve gear grind and do you want more, or have you had enough?
My addiction History:
>> EQ1 2000-2004 - Shaman/Bard/Wizard/Monk - nolife raid-whore
>> WoW 2004-2009 + Cataclysm for 2 months - hardcore casual
>> Current status : done with MMO, too old for that crap.
Comments
PCs have nothing to worry about from consoles until it's as easy for an indy game to get on ANY console as is it is for the PC. The only company do an almost decent job of this is Microsoft, the same company that will be most tempted to pull out of the console bussiness, and the same company that "has" to care about PC games.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
It will happen. I know there are many nay-sayers about this, but I feel this post is correct. I took a twelve year hiatus from consoles and just recently bought a 360. I played Oblivion (Morrowind) and was surprised at how easily the controls worked for an RPG game. I believe, Conan is trying to make it to consoles, or rather a version of it. It will be interesting to see the UI. I think if they can solve that (and they eventually will) you'll have your MMORPG's on consoles.
Also, I understand there are technical difficulties with patching and other things concerning consoles. But, the OP is talking about next gen consoles - not the ones now.
In any case, I can't wait.
u mean if consoles will have a futur.. with the new "streaming" technology blizz was babbling about, if this is true, consoles would die as we know of it.
CCp has got it. A central MMO with different systems accessible in different ways.
See you in the dream..
The Fires from heaven, now as cold as ice. A rapid ascension tolls a heavy price.
I think either way, someone will want a piece. If not the console makers, then the owners of the infastructure used to stream it to the TV. Who knows though.
See you in the dream..
The Fires from heaven, now as cold as ice. A rapid ascension tolls a heavy price.
you might have noticed
consoles are becoming much more like PCs so this is a non issue
right now devs are forcing their games to fit consoles in order to get those extra bucks but we have yet to see any numbers (cash) on whether it is worth it or not
I honestly don't think it will happen.
First of all, one of the big problems with having an MMO on consoles is the amount of control the console company wants. There are actually a number of MMOs trying to make their way onto consoles, but are being held up by Microsoft etc for whatever reason. Champions Online has said they pretty much have their 360 version of the game ready for release, but it's being held up by MS. There's also the cost for online service. 360 users have to pay for Gold Accounts, but can't really go online with silver accounts. It seems unreasonable to make someone pay for a Gold Account in addition to the monthly fee for the online game, so MS would have to let the silver accounts go on for free. I don't know how they'll resolve this (or perhaps they already have) but it's an issue. Not only that, but I think there'd be pressure for one system or the other to be exclusive with the title, not really something that crops up in the PC areas.
Secondly, I'd argue that PC communities age better than consoles. With an MMO you want people playing for years, during which you'll be adding new content and expansions and such. This also means there's a pressure to put better graphics in as you go along. A lot of MMOs put out an expansion and then have to up the minimum system requirements. This isn't as big a deal in the PC community because PC users are constantly upgrading their own systems every couple years or so. I would argue that people buy a PC upgrade more often than they buy a new console. If you're hitting the limits of the system on a console (as I'm led to believe happens now on the 360) then you can't really improve that much in the way of system use.
Finally, I'd say that MMOs are more accessible as a community. In that, we're playing on a PC and we can just alt-tab to go to our guild webpage, or have ventrilo going in the background, put in UI mods ourselves, etc. There's a lot more leeway in the way of control and customization for the user himself, as well as users with eachother, and users creating communities and community. It seems to me that MMO websites are far more trafficked than console websites, just for the fact that it's so easily accessible.
Just a couple of thoughts anyways.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
There is a future for mmo's on consoles, but PC's won't die, not by a long shot. People have been talking about this for ages, then WoW came and destroyed all the arguments. ( At least one good thing that WoW did
)
1st of all, consoles are generally played in the livingroom on the TV. Secondly, it is generally played in shorter duration. Thirdly, console players are not accustomed to paying subs. These are obstacles that can be overcome.
But for indy devs it is easier ( more tools and alot of knowledge to be found on the net ) and cheaper ( consoles require expensive licenses ) to develop for PC., so they will choose that.
Will the giants like EA and Blizzard go for consoles? Probably. Will they negate PC? I doubt it.
So far mmo's on consoles are nearly nonexistant, while mmo's have been on PC for over 20 years.
If you are interested in subscription or PCU numbers for MMORPG's, check out my site :
http://mmodata.blogspot.be/
Favorite MMORPG's : DAoC pre ToA-NF, SWG Pre CU-NGE, EVE Online
The future of MMORPG's is with both Console's and PC's.
PC will stay aslong we have company's like Ati/Nvidia to provide hugh investments into gaming and they can not make the profit on console's the way they are able to generate it from PC gamers.
But pc gaming is still in a dangerzone due to people who aren't really gamers and download their games the illegal way, which does really hurt this industry thanks to those wanna be gamers.
Also grind is a playstyle that a players puts on her/himself, not the game. I do agree that crafting/housing and actualy community tools are pretty lacking with most MMORPG as they turning more and more in just action online games.
If consoles had keyboards and mice, I'd have already made the switch.
It just makes so much sense to do so; consoles are standardized hardware that are specifically geared towards gaming; they're far cheaper than a high-end PC and require virtually no maintenance in the forms of drivers and such.
The line is blurring between consoles and PCs. I can only hope that the next blurring occurs in the control interfaces, 'cos a PS4 with a keyboard and mouse would be my idea of perfection.
Playing: EVE, Final Fantasy 13, Uncharted 2, Need for Speed: Shift
If the future of MMOs was on consoles, alot of people wouldnt play MMOs anymore, including myself
Mess with the best, Die like the rest
The issue is the console manufacturers who want to get paid extra for letting you have access to the Internet. Nintendo doesn't do that, once you download their browser channel, you have free, unrestricted access to the net and can access anything out there. You don't pay extra to play any online game.
Maybe the problem is that M$ and Sony suck.
Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
Now Playing: None
Hope: None
I can only see a future for mmos in consoles if:
- the console has extra space or hard drives
- you only pay the monthly fee or no fee to play the game (no paying xbox live)
- the game is either played with keyboard and mouse
or
- the game is completely played in a Devil May Cry, Assassin Creed, God of War fashion with controllers and to comunicate every player uses head mics
Honestly, I don't think the programmers or customers would be any better or worse off if the future of MMOs was on consoles. There will always be plenty of great single player games on both consoles and the PC.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
I feel that this is a likely scenerio, eventually. However, I don't see this anytime within the next 5 years. I do agree that a lot of MMOs have hit the "wall" that you described, but I feel that there will be PC MMOs that break that wall down before consoles have to intervene. Although with that said, I do enjoy Xbox 360 a lot.
Many of you may remember a video game that was called True Fantasy Live Online. If not, it was going to be for the Xbox. This game was shelved because Microsoft said "There was too much competition in that market"...
From my point of view, the only other MMOs for a console would be Phantasy Star Online, or FFXI... but they were looking at it as a "whole".
If by "future" you mean when we have solved world hunger, colonized Mars, and invented the longer-lasting lightbulb... then perhaps. If you mean in the near future... personally I doubt it. State of games, companies caring about the most profitable market, and economy the way it is... can't see people taking the "risks" involved.
Maybe things will evolve... but I bought into that hope when I got this really awesome game called Steel Battalion w/controller set. Best $200 I ever spent! Promises of more games to be released for it... and not a damned thing. Haven't seen anything yet like that for the Xbox360 either.
So long as consoles are built like e-machines with massive fail rates, and with special, non-upgradable parts, and even have f'ing screws that require special tools...it won't happen. If my vid card, RAM, or Mobo dies, at least I can go buy one, replace or upgrade the quality of what I originally had rather than ship the whole unit off to be repaired. On top of that, I still have a dated single core P4 rig with a geforce 7600 that can run Left 4 Dead just fine in a world with dual and quad cores and dual vid cards, I can't say that Xbox can run Xbox360 games. I hightly doubt consoles will be the future of MMO's so long as there is an upgrade barrier.
edit: Last i knew, there were USB slots on the PS2... don't know about a PS3 or Xbox 360. Soooo you don't need special mice, or keyboards to use. The technology is >>>HERE<<< to use mice and keyboards with USB for consoles.
"There is only one thing of which I am certain, and that's nothing is certain."
Just a reminder to those who don't know about the xbox360/PS3 keyboards:
But they allow for quick text communication, and you can still plug earphones directly on the controller.
My addiction History:
>> EQ1 2000-2004 - Shaman/Bard/Wizard/Monk - nolife raid-whore
>> WoW 2004-2009 + Cataclysm for 2 months - hardcore casual
>> Current status : done with MMO, too old for that crap.
You have to pay for Xboxlive, but PS3 network is free, bar what your internet provider charge you of course.
My addiction History:
>> EQ1 2000-2004 - Shaman/Bard/Wizard/Monk - nolife raid-whore
>> WoW 2004-2009 + Cataclysm for 2 months - hardcore casual
>> Current status : done with MMO, too old for that crap.
Consoles may...MAY...one day come close or even rival PCs for online gaming, but they will never surpass them. That is just the nature of PCs.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
WTF? No subscription fee?
Those controlers look groovy, but controlers can never have the accuracy that you can get with mouse/keyboard. As long as it is not a MMOFPS, this is not the end of the world, but if I had a choice- I would rather have the keyboard mouse.
The future of mmo's might be on consoles, but PC games as a whole aren't going anywhere.
A console is just a heavily DRM'd PC (with hardware 3 or 4 years behind the current PC top-end), and so it will never replace those games that allow people to customize and get more out of their gaming experience (i.e. huge modding communities like Half-Life, the Sims, and others).
Game companies want to move everything to consoles because they can then nickel and dime everyone to death for content that is currently free. A lot of non-technical gamers will probably go for this because it's convenient and they don't know any better (or don't care).
PC gaming will remain, though it may become more specialized and even more enthusiast driven than it already is. MMO's are becoming so simplified (the most popular mmo's are currently nothing more than action games) that it really makes no difference if they're played on a PC or a console. They're already DRM'd, closed off to modders, and generating recurring revenue, so nothing will really change when they go to consoles (other than the graphics regressing, unless console makers up the ante here, which will in turn make the consoles more expensive).
Doh, I have both the console version of Oblivion and the PC version and believe me, the controls on the PC are far far better. Of course maybe the above poster has a mouse attached to the console which would help immensely.
PC's own consoles, today. I don't see that changing any time soon.
Your post mainly revolves around a problem with MMORPGs being too grindy and whatever. You say that console games have better this and that. You really don't know what you're talking about.
You seem very insistent that PC only has MMORPGs. What about BioWare games, Bethesda games, EA / Maxis Games, etc? Simulations, any RTS, many first-person shooters, and some RPGs simply cannot be made for console because they are designed around the PC's standard input devices.
You're forgetting that the people who make MMORPGs do not make other types of games. They started making MMORPGs as their first endeavors, and so they follow their own standards. That standard is the grind. It's just how they develop their games.
This isn't consoles vs. PC. This is lame developers vs. good developers.
Anyways, moving on to controls. I prefer the accuracy and freedom of a mouse and keyboard as game controllers when I play shooters and MMORPGs. Mice don't move on a gradient like control sticks, so I can get the precision I need.
Console controllers are nice for console games because they're designed around those controls. Seriously, have you seen how terrible some ports from them to PC can be? Beyond Good and Evil is a perfect example of a terrible port to PC. Its fun on console, but painful on PC. The controls are awful.
Some games, such as the RTS and MMORPG, require computers because of the mouse input. It's the perfect controller for supreme accuracy, it allows for more flexibility in interface design, and anyone can get used to it in mere minutes. Having a keyboard is a plus,because you can type faster with ten fingers than you can with two, and using a control scheme like the one here below, you have more buttons available than any controller:
Combine that with a 10-button mouse and you've got three times as many quick-action options in both hands than you would with a controller. That allows for a lot more options in design.
The reasons why developers want to get away from PC gaming are two-fold: PCs do not have standardized hardware and piracy is easy. It's the opposite on consoles. It has nothing to do with control schemes or game ideas.
Sony doesnt charge for internet and the PS3 has built in wireless, just bought one yesterday. For the price of a good graphics card you can have the entire system. There is a very good chance that STO will come to the PS3 and im looking forward to it.
Can you give an example of an MMO that has been affected by software piracy?
- RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right?
- FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?